


He Wouldn't Have To

by EmberAutumns



Category: Undertale (Video Game), underswap
Genre: Backstory, Character Study, Gambling, Gen, Light Angst, Morally Ambiguous Character, Morally Ambiguous Sans, No innocent beans here, Stealing, Theif US Sans, Worried Papyrus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 20:10:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15979598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmberAutumns/pseuds/EmberAutumns
Summary: Sans is tired of being treated like the cute innocent brother, but he knows it makes Papyrus happy. If he's forced to play innocent anyway, why not use it to his advantage?Papyrus knows Sans isn't as innocent as he seems, but when he's the reason Sans had to give up his innocence in the first place.... Well, sometimes it's easier to turn a blind eye.The Underswap skelebros often get portrayed as simply opposites, but they have so much potential to be unique with combinations of both their original personalities and their swapped portrayals.





	He Wouldn't Have To

“MWEH HEH HEH, IT SEEMS THE MAGNIFICENT SANS HAS WON AGAIN!” Sans idly watched as jaws dropped all around him, and the muttering began. Feigning ignorance to the growing distrust of his table-mates, a couple of random monsters from new home, he figured he could probably get one more game out of them if he played this right.

“MWEH, I SHOULD CELEBRATE MY MAGNIFICENT LUCK! DO YOU GUYS LIKE ICE CREAM? I CAN GET US SOME!” Quickly the distrust faded as everyone suddenly remembered how  _ cute _ and  _ childish _ he was. Far too innocent to ever be able to  _ cheat _ , let alone at a game involving actual  _ money _ , and hadn’t he barely known the rules an hour ago? Clearly it was beginners luck.

**_Yeah right._ **

Sans had been running this same scam for  _ years _ . He knew how to play his innocence just right, when to lose and how badly, it was all just another puzzle. A better one then those traps he set at the path leading away from the ruins for a human who would never come. He was too  _ cute _ and  _ sweet _ to be ever let into the Royal Guard anyway, not that he’d let anyone know he knew that. He did need a way to help pay for the house though, and “gambling” was easy money with his face.

Sure enough, his table mates took him up on his offer for food, but decided on something a little greasier than ice cream. He put up a token resistance against “SUCH UNHEALTHY GREASE!” but didn’t bother fighting them too hard on it. This was the only chance he had to eat like this without Papyrus hovering over his shoulder about his health. He only ate sweets and honey, and he thought  _ Sans _ was the unhealthy eater? As if.

There were a lot of things Papyrus wouldn’t accept about him though. Papyrus had his own problems though, and if being cute helped him then he’d play the part a little while longer. Maybe then Papyrus wouldn't have to work so many jobs.

Besides, he noted as he raked in another 50G with ease, being cute was profitable. At this rate he’d be able to afford that motorcycle he’d always wanted by the time he got to the surface.

 

* * *

 

Sans was out late again, and Papyrus didn’t want to admit he knew where he was. He didn’t want to think about the time he’d followed him all the way to Grillby’s in the middle of the night, or the time he’d come home late half-drunk on honey to see Sans counting out a massive stack of gold.

He didn’t want to admit that it just might be  _ his fault _ .

So he didn’t. After all, a judge couldn’t cast judgement without all the facts, and Papyrus made sure he had almost nothing to go on. He had never set foot inside Grillby’s, maybe Sans was simply working the night shift there. He wasn’t a very good cook, but he could probably mix drinks or wait on people, he certainly had the energy for it. There’s nothing wrong with taking on a late night job to help pay for the house after all.

If only he could believe that.

He knew he was too wrapped up in the innocence he projected on his brother, of course he did, but he’d lost so much of his childhood after Gaster disappeared. After he’d had to take over to give  _ Papyrus _ a childhood. Sans deserved better than that. Sans deserved the  _ world _ after everything he’d done for him, but being forced to grow up too fast, a lot of his innocence was gone. He didn’t know for sure what he’d had to do to keep their house, but he was sure it wasn’t something just any child could have done.

Sans though, Sans was smart, no matter how he tried to hide it. Sans could probably rob a bank if it would help Papyrus.

Papyrus was smart too of course, he'd realized what Sans was doing was wrong, and like an idiot he’d told Sans to stop.That was when his “innocence” started coming back. Sans had him convinced he'd changed for the better, that the royal guard was helping them and they didn't need to worry anymore.

He hadn't been lying in the strictest sense, and that's what got him. The royal guard sent checks every week, and they didn't need to worry anymore. Because Sans had it covered. It took him three years to realize the royal guard checks weren't covering everything, and another four months for him to realize sans had been  _pick pocketing_  monsters.

He had tried to confront Sans, but every time he brought it up Sans would change the subject. It hadn't been until he'd broken down crying that Sans had confessed and promised to change.

He didn't want to believe that Sans had lied. So he didn't. Sans was just out working an oddly lucrative job as a bartender or a waiter. He was old enough to do so and it was honest work. That's all he was doing.

Maybe if Papyrus got another job he wouldn't have to.

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this onto my tumblr, [emberautumns](https://emberautumns.tumblr.com/) first, along with other works that aren't going to be posted here. If you're curious, check it out!


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